by Catherine Halbmaier
Special to The Leaven
ATCHISON — Care for the earth, the poor and the local community have always been core values for the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica here.
In Merrywood Community Garden, they’ve been able to serve them all.
But it started out slow.
When the second season of the collaboration kicked off with a workday on May 3 for volunteers to plant vegetables and celebrate the new additions to the garden, attendance was low.
“We probably had about 15 people there,” said Sister Helen Mueting, OSB, member of the board in charge of the garden. “Since five of us were on the planning team, it was kind of a smaller turnout than we had hoped for. May is a busy month, so that may have contributed to the lack of volunteers that day.”
But when a band of Sisters and local community members gathered to plant sweet potatoes at a pop-up event on July 1, numbers were up — and not just in those participating.
“We did plant almost 100 sweet potato plants in our garden,” Sister Helen said. “We are now harvesting from the garden. Peppers, lettuce, green beans, zucchini, squash, cucumbers and a few tomatoes have ripened.”
The produce harvested will be donated to Catholic Charities and distributed to families in need.
The garden looks “great, with lots of blooming zinnias and marigolds on the outside of it,” said Sister Helen, making it a beautiful place for the community.
The project now also has several regular volunteers who help with watering, weeding and harvesting. And they help the Sisters take the produce to Catholic Charities.
Sister Helen and fellow Benedictine Sisters Elaine Fischer and Barbara Smith have led the efforts of the garden’s maintenance since its opening in 2024.
“Three of us Sisters are on the board of Merrywood Community Garden, so some of us have been at all the major workdays and have helped in between,” Sister Helen said. “Sister Elaine has assembled most of the raised beds with some help with the original 10. The Mount has also donated a number of supplies for the garden.”
But the Sisters rely on community volunteers.
“It means a lot since we have our own garden,” said Sister Helen, “and cannot give a lot of time to the community garden.
“We could not do it without help from people in the community of Atchison. We also enjoy working with the local community on this project. It is a plus to be donating the fresh produce to Catholic Charities here in Atchison.”
But there is more for Merrywood Garden in the works.
“We plan to put up a hoop house in our garden area which will probably be ready by fall,” said Sister Helen. “The ground has been prepared for it, and we have the hoop house, which needs to be assembled. It will extend the growing season.”
In addition to the board of Sisters, several Atchison community members play an active role in the garden’s management.
“We are very grateful to the other board members, all of whom are very dedicated,” Sister Helen said. “They are Levi Yardley, Courtney King, Diane Liebsch, Jeff Schuele and Kelly Thompson.”
Sister Mary Elizabeth Schweiger, prioress of the Mount St. Scholastica community, attended the inaugural event and expressed her gratitude for both the board’s and the community’s support.
“I did attend the workday for the Merrywood Garden to offer my support for this wonderful endeavor, to get to know our Atchison neighbors and to enjoy the beautiful day,” Sister Mary Elizabeth said. “As prioress of the community, I want others to experience our commitment to care of the earth and the poor.”
For more information, send an email to: merrywoodcommunitygarden@gmail.com.
